Happy Endings
by Snape's Siren
Summary: Holly Quiggle, an American Professor, has been hired on to teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts after Dumbledore's death. Will she survive, or will Severus Snape get the best of her? SSOC.
1. The Letter

**Author's Note**: I would like to thank **lucidity** (aka Lisa) – she has inspired me to write this story and without her, I would just have a Mary Sue with a weak plot (shudders in horror) – I would also have a lot of mistakes! So, here's a shout out to Lucidity – without you this story would have never been made possible. And to all you newbies to this fic, please read and review! This is my first ever HP fic! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing created by J.K. Rowling

**Chapter One – The Letter**

**June 30, 1997 – Salem, Massachusetts**

The night was far from quiet in Salem on that fateful day in June. People were in the streets, laughing, dancing, and talking excitedly. Newspapers had printed the reason for celebration and could not be distributed fast enough to the residents of Salem. Wizards and witches were alight with joy not just in Salem but all over the world. One of these witches, a small brunette dressed in summer weight robes, ran from the town, a copy of the _Salem Herald_ clutched in her hand. She ran until she reached the edge of the town, where she stopped in front of a quiet, darkened townhouse. Fumbling for her wand, she unlocked the door and stepped into the entrance hall.

"Holly!" she shouted loudly, her voice echoing in the darkened entrance hall of the house.

Silence met the petite brunette's ears, save for the quiet ticking of the clock on the mantelpiece.

"Holly!" the brunette became more insistent, "Where is my sister?" she muttered hotly under her breath. "_Lumos,"_ she said the incantation quietly, holding her lit wand up in front of her.

Suddenly the brunette in the entrance hall heard a tumbling sound coming from the ceiling above her.

"Holly Quiggle!" the brunette nearly screamed.

A tousled blond head appeared at the top of the staircase, and then the woman appeared, half-asleep, squinting from the bright light.

"Emily!" growled the blonde, "Do you _know_ what time it is?"

The brunette fumbled with something in her hands, "Holly! This is important!" Emily cried.

Holly stumbled down the stairs, bleary-eyed, wearing a fantastic glare, "What, just _what_ is so important at two o'clock in the morning?" she demanded sleepily.

Emily thrust the paper into Holly's hands, "Read this!" she cried.

Holly snatched the paper from her sister's hands, and read the headline, "_VOLDEMORT DEFEATED_!"

Not even bothering to read the rest of the article, she let the paper slip from her hands onto the floor and let the information sink into her mind. Slowly a smile lit up her sleepy face. Holly's green eyes met Emily's brown ones – they were both grinning.

Squealing with happiness, Emily launched herself into Holly's arms and the two embraced, whilst jumping up and down for joy. The most feared evil in the entire wizarding world was gone.

* * *

"In an act of heroic bravery, Harry Potter, 16, of Surrey, England, defeated the evil wizard Voldemort with a reverse incantation of the Killing Spell. Now all over the world, wizards and witches celebrating the defeat of the most evil wizard of the twentieth century…" Emily read the article as Holly padded around the kitchen making coffee and muffins for an early breakfast. Although it was very late, or very early (depending on your view), neither sister could think about sleep.

"Thank Merlin for Potter!" Holly said brightly.

"Here's a picture of him," Emily said, showing her the front page, where a very weary black-haired teen, who barely glanced at the camera, was supported by another boy and a girl, all very close to the same age.

"Wow," breathed Holly.

"Oh," Emily gasped.

"What is it?"

"Albus Dumbledore has died," Emily said quietly, laying down the paper.

Holly came around to the kitchen table and absently handed her sister a mug of steaming coffee. She looked down at the paper and found a list of casualties. Indeed, the great wizard Dumbledore had perished, along with a team of English Aurors, among others. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Alastor Moody, Sturgis Podmore – none of the names she recognized, yet she felt a tiny piece of her heart go out to all those who gave their lives.

Emily remained quiet, "Are you all right?" Holly asked, nudging the smaller woman.

That seemed to snap Emily out of her reverie, "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." She replied automatically.

Holly gave her a look.

Emily sighed, "It's just, I never thought a great wizard like Dumbledore would be brought down…ever."

Holly grabbed her sister's hand, "Em, things happen in war – "

"Hols-"

Holly held up her hand, "Just hear me out. You know, sometimes even the greatest wizards can't dodge a Kill-"

"Holly, I-"

"No, no need to explain, Em. I understand-"

"Holly!"

"For pity's sake, I'm just trying to be the 'comforting big sister' to you!" Holly said indignantly.

"Much as I appreciate that, there are more important matters at hand."

"Like?"

"Like your kitchen is on fire."

Holly dropped the mug of coffee she was holding and sprinted towards the kitchen. Emily sat at the table, very much amused. She heard Holly utter an extinguishing charm five times (intermingled with curses) before her sister emerged from the kitchen, black from smoke and soaking from head to toe, a lock of hair on the right side of her head was noticeably shorter and still smoking.

Emily looked at her sister with raised eyebrows, "Holly, why is your hair-"

Holly glared at her sister and growled, "I don't want to talk about it."

As Holly stomped out of the kitchen, Emily called out, "But where are you going?"

"Taking a shower!" Holly yelled behind her. As she ascended the steps, she could hear her sister laughing. Holly jabbed her wand at the kitchen, muttering under her breath. Suddenly Emily's laughter stopped and she shrieked in surprise. A smile appeared on the blonde's face as she continued on her way to the bathroom.

* * *

Two weeks passed by quickly for Holly. Emily was still a bit mad that Holly had set her hair on fire, but seemed to retain a joyous mood like the rest of the wizarding community of Salem. Pubs remained open and shops closed – now was a time for celebrating, now that the world was free from Voldemort. Everyone was celebrating, even Delia Quiggle, Holly and Emily's mother, hosted a huge party for all of their close family and friends – and champagne and firewhisky flowed freely. Talk was light and joyful – two things it hadn't been for the last several years. Everybody was happy.

"Holly, dearest, are you enjoying yourself?" asked Holly's father, Amos, handing her a full flute of champagne.

Holly smiled, "Yes, Dad. I'm having a great time," she said, "But I think Mom and Emily are having the greatest time of anyone here." She giggled, pointing to her mother and sister.

Amos' eyes followed Holly's outstretched arm and saw Delia and Emily, collapsed on the couch giggling like mischievous hyenas, two glasses clinking with ice and firewhisky in their hands.

The two petite brunettes saw Amos' amused gaze.

"Having fun, darling?" Delia asked, her chocolate eyes glassy.

"Yes, dear," the raven-haired man replied, his own brown eyes twinkling.

At his answer, Emily and her mother burst into laughter anew.

"Those two are a trip, as the younger generation like to say," Amos commented.

Holly laughed, "Yes, Dad, they sure are."

* * *

Holly slept soundly that night, whether from happiness or the three glasses of champagne the night before. She awoke the next morning to a light tapping noise at her window. Opening her emerald eyes just a crack; she was nearly blinded by the bright sunlight streaming in through her window.

She pulled the blanket back over her head and willed herself to go back to sleep, but the tapping at the window grew more insistent. Groaning, she flung the covers off of her and reluctantly swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she noticed that the tapping at her window was being made by a small brown owl who sat on the windowsill outside.

"Who sends mail first thing in the morning?" she grumbled as she opened the window and let the brown owl fly into her bedroom.

The owl landed gracefully on the bedpost and Holly noticed a letter tied to its leg. Holly untied the letter and sat back down on the bed, examining it.

"To Holly Quiggle, 478 Ashwinder Way, Salem," she read out loud.

Turning over the envelope she broke open the red wax seal and pulled out two pieces of parchment, adorned with strict, straight black inked letters.

"Dear Ms. Quiggle," she read the letter aloud, "I am writing to inform you that your application for Professor of Transfiguration has been accepted. Please send your reply back with Orleans. Should you agree, please arrive at the school no later than July 25. Very Respectfully, Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She looked at the owl, which she surmised was _the_ Orleans mentioned in the letter.

"You know, I must have sent that application in five years ago," she said ruefully.

Orleans hooted in reply, and pecked her hand gently.

"All right, all right. No need to twist my arm! I accept!" she laughed. Walking over to her dresser, she picked up her quill and scrawled her response before sending Orleans back to Headmistress McGonagall.

* * *

"You're moving?" Emily asked incredulously later that morning.

"Yep," replied Holly, watching her parents' faces as they read the letter.

"England's ages from here."

Holly gave her sister an unbelieving look, "What? You can Apparate or take a Portkey, you know."

Emily grumbled in reply.

"Well we think it's great, honey," Amos said, "Don't we Delia?"

Delia looked worried, "Emily's right. England is so far away…"

"Mom!" Holly was indignant, "I'm twenty seven years old for Merlin's sake, not three! Besides, where else will I work?"

"You can stay here and get a job at that restaurant Emily manages," Delia's response was weak and she knew it.

"Mom, I tried that four months ago, remember? The witch in charge of the kitchens almost killed me when I almost burned her place down trying to make…"

"Toast?" interrupted Emily in a sugar sweet voice, smiling broadly.

Holly glared at her, "Oh please! Like you could..."

"I can!"

"Whatever."

Amos cleared his throat loudly, catching the attention of his wife and daughters.

Holly blushed but continued, "Mom, I'm going anyway. I just wanted to let you know. I thought you'd be happy for me."

"We are honey, it's just –"

"Just what?"

Amos took charge, "What your mother means, Holly, is that we are very happy that you got this job. If you're happy, we're happy," he said with finality, spearing his wife with a "be quiet and be happy for our daughter" look.

Delia smiled slowly, and nodded her assent.

Holly sighed in relief, "Thank Merlin," she said, "because I'm leaving tomorrow."

* * *

"Mother, is all of this really necessary?" Holly asked, regarding the overflowing trunk in the middle of the bedroom. Mother and daughter were spending the day at Holly's tiny townhouse, packing up most of her belongings into the huge trunk.

Delia gave her daughter a look, "Of course it is. Besides, England's a very cold and wet country. I won't have you catching your death. And anyway, it's always nice to have new robes."

The day before, Delia, Holly, and Emily had Apparated to New York City and did a bit of shopping after Amos talked her mother into being sensible about this job offer. They had stopped at a famous boutique of famed fashion wizard Paolo Pontaliano, and Delia decided to overload Holly with brand new robes, for good luck, or so she said. Delia Quiggle loved to shop and used any excuse to make an opportunity.

"Mom, I don't wear robes everyday," Holly said, "I always end up falling flat on my face and in the summer I'm constantly performing cooling spells on myself."

Delia clucked her tongue, "Honey, _I_ know that" she stressed, "but _they're English._ They wear robes all of the time, and will expect you to do the same. Always so proper and whatnot."

Holly rolled her emerald eyes.

"How are we supposed to close this stupid trunk?" she sighed, twirling her wand between her fingers.

Now it was Delia's turn to roll her eyes, "Idiot girl, you ever hear of a shrinking spell?" she asked teasingly.

Holly blushed crimson, as her wand slipped from her fingers.

"Right, I knew that."

* * *

The afternoon of July 20, Holly found herself and all of her luggage in Salem's Apparition Licensing and Portkey Authorization Office. She had planned to take a Portkey to London, where she would then have all of her things shipped to Hogwarts via the Magical Parcel Service (more commonly known as MPS) located in Diagon Alley, and then she would Apparate to Hogsmeade, a small town near Hogwarts, and from there she would take the Floo Network (a method of transportation Holly despised worse than flying on a broomstick) over to the Castle.

It was simple enough, and within 45 minutes, Holly found herself entangled in her cloak and half-way falling out of a fireplace. When she finally untangled herself from the navy blue folds, she saw a room full of the faculty, and all of them were wearing poorly hidden expressions of amusement. Brushing a stray lock of golden hair from her face, she smiled weakly.

A tall witch at the head of the room looked at her sternly, as if appraising her. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Quiggle."


	2. First Day

**Author's Note:** Big thanks to **lucidity** for helping me with this project and to all of you reviewers! Now to answer the big question for those of you not so familiar with J.K. Rowling's creation: Who is Professor Paul Osborne?

**Answer:** Professor Paul Osborne is actually not part of Rowling's world. He's a made up character who I have inserted as the Professor of Muggle Studies. To find a likeness of him, check out _Queer Eye for the Straight Guy_'s Carson.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing created by J.K. Rowling

**Chapter Two – First Day**

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Quiggle," said the stern Headmistress.

Holly blushed. "Hi," she said lamely. A few titters from the faculty were heard, and Holly wanted to sink into the floor and die. _Way to make an entrance, Quiggle_, she thought dourly.

"Well, go on then! Take a seat!" Headmistress McGonagall said impatiently.

Holly took the first available seat next to a blonde wizard in tangerine cashmere robes. Smiling briefly at him, she sat down in the old brown leather wingback chair.

"As I was saying," the Headmistress continued briskly, "as you all know, Headmaster Dumbledore is no longer with us." She paused sadly. A melancholy feeling swept the room and not a single smile was seen among the Hogwarts' faculty.

"And," McGonagall continued awkwardly, "that means that I have been appointed Headmistress," she didn't look the slightest bit proud of it, "and we've gotten a few additions to our faculty. Professor Holly Quiggle will be taking over as the Transfiguration Professor in my stead, and Professor Remus Lupin will be rejoining our faculty as the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor," she briefly indicated to Holly and Professor Remus Lupin who sat on the opposite side of the room from Holly and the tangerine robed wizard. "I have called you all here a month earlier than scheduled to discuss a reorganization of the faculty and curriculum for this year now that Albus is gone as well as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, so you will have adequate time to prepare your lesson plans. Simone, if you would pass this around …"

* * *

The meeting lasted three hours and Holly had stopped listening after the first forty-five minutes, as her mind was elsewhere. It seemed to Holly that this school was more concerned that there would be an attack by former Death Eaters, than with a complete magical education. New emphasis on Defense Against the Dark Arts, defensive potions, as well as a modification to Muggle Studies – Holly really didn't see a point; Voldemort was gone, after all; but she had made the mistake of questioning the Headmistress.

"Headmistress McGonagall," she began hesitantly. "Er, what is the point to an emphasis on Defense Against the Dark Arts and defensive potions? Voldemort's gone."

A few in the room had gasped or winced at the mention of the vanquished Dark Lord.

McGonagall had speared her with a cold look, "Professor Quiggle, seeing as how England bore the brunt of the atrocities of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, I wouldn't expect you to understand the meaning behind this decision. Furthermore, you are the _Transfiguration_ Professor, so I fail to see the reason why you are concerned."

Holly stupidly plunged ahead, forgetting that the Headmistress was her new boss, "Headmistress, he's gone. Voldemort's gone. So—"

"Professor Quiggle," McGonagall seethed. "End of discussion."

Holly was genuinely puzzled. Why was there an emphasis on DADA? It just didn't make sense. However, feeling the bite of McGonagall's glare, she ceased to question the cold Headmistress.

A thick silence fell over the room and Holly felt every eye upon her. She began to feel sick. It was her first day and already she was making an ass of herself.

It seemed like an eternity before Professors began standing up to leave. The blonde tangerine robed wizard next to Holly grinned at her. "Americans," he teased, a lock of hair falling into his eyes.

Holly raised her eyebrows in question.

"Don't worry, McGonagall's bark is worse than her bite," he said. "She's been more on edge since Dumbledore passed. And," he lowered his voice, "she's afraid that the Death Eaters will break out of Azkaban and hunt us all down, one by one."

Looking around, she spotted the Headmistress engaged in a furtive conversation with a tall, pale-skinned, greasy-haired wizard in black robes. Furrowing her brows she asked, "Paranoid?"

"Just a little," he replied. "I'm Paul Osbourne, by the way," the wizard before her said, sticking out his hand.

"Holly Quiggle," she said, taking it. "What do you teach?"

"Usually, I teach dance, cooking, and the arts," he said, sighing; "Now it's all about Muggle Wars and Muggle psychology." He groaned, glaring at the parchment in his hand with the new curriculum printed on it. "Apparently it's more important than Muggle lifestyles." He rolled his sky-blue eyes.

Holly laughed. "I teach Transfiguration."

Paul smiled sunnily, his blue eyes twinkling. "I know."

"Yeah…I forgot," she said awkwardly.

"The girls and I are going out to get a drink this evening, would you like to come?" he asked.

Holly smiled. "I'd like that. What time?"

* * *

It had been a harrowing afternoon for the American Professor. A very disagreeable Squib by the name of Argus Filch (caretaker of Hogwarts), had grudgingly led her to her tiny chambers on the second floor, talking all the while about the children who he would like to "hang by their thumbs from chains suspended in the darkest dungeon." Holly had shuddered when he had said that, and was grateful to be rid of him when they had arrived at the old wooden door of her chambers. Opening the door, Holly was greeted with an unwelcome sight. Her chambers were bare and empty (save for the plain furniture) and very cold, not unlike her new boss. There was one window that let in a stream of late afternoon sunlight, illuminating the thin, gray coverlet on the four-poster bed. Holly sighed, she would be grateful when her trunks arrived before supper that evening.

However, that was not to be. Holly had received an Owl from MPS in Diagon Alley, informing her that her trunks would be delayed by at least a week due to a potion explosion in shipping. She was outraged. _There's the English for you_, her mother's voice singsonged in her head. She could only hope that her things would arrive in their original condition.

To top off her first day most spectacularly, she had run into (literally) the very dark greasy haired wizard she had seen talking to the Headmistress earlier at the meeting. She had been walking down a corridor on the first floor with the parchment from MPS in front of her face, arguing with it.

"Who in their right mind ships explosive potions by freight? The fricking English that's wh--ooof!" she had run into something, rather someone.

"Do you mind?" came a sharp acidic voice from above her.

She looked up into the face of hook-nosed wizard with very menacing black eyes. "Sorry, I—"

He simply glared at her, "Watch where you're going!" he barked sharply.

Holly was taken aback, "I said I was sorry," she said indignantly.

He said nothing, and with a parting scowl, he went on his way, his black robes billowing behind him.

"Ass. I bet someone like you would ship explosives by freight," she muttered not quite under her breath. The black-robed wizard had heard her and turned around menacingly, however, before he could say anything, Paul rescued her, swooping down the corridor in the opposite direction, sporting a set of azure robes. "There you are! Where have you been?" he asked breathlessly.

"Stupid MPS," she muttered, handing him the parchment.

He took it and read it, "Come along," he said dismissively; "we've got to get to the Great Hall for dinner if we're going out for drinks later."

"Right," she said, allowing Paul to drag her away. She couldn't wait until that evening -- she _needed_ a drink. The way things were going today, she wouldn't be surprised if she needed ten drinks before it was all over.

* * *

The evening fared far better than that day for Professor Holly Quiggle. After a quick dinner, Paul whisked Holly to the Entrance Hall of the castle, where two witches were waiting. After hugs of greeting, Paul asked, "Where were you two?"

A tall black-haired witch spoke in a rich voice, "We went back to my rooms to get ready and one of the house-elves brought us dinner."

Paul frowned. "You could have told me."

The black haired witch smirked. "You weren't around."

The other witch, a brunette in lemon yellow robes spoke up, "Paul, aren't you going to introduce us?"

Paul suddenly remembered Holly.

"Holly," he said, with a hint of exaggerated grandeur. "May I present the beautiful Simone Sinistra, Professor of Astronomy," he gestured to the black-haired witch. Without a moment to let Simone introduce herself properly, he continued, bowing deeply, "And the equally beautiful Victoria Vector, Professor of Arithmancy. Possibly the most brilliant witch at Hogwarts." He gestured to the brunette witch, who was frowning at Paul.

"Oh stop it, Osbourne," Victoria said playfully. "Pleasure to meet you, Holly," she said smiling.

"Yes, don't listen to that twit, Holly," Simone said, elbowing Paul in the ribs. "He's obviously full of crap."

"Thy words woundeth me!" cried Paul, melodramatically placing a hand over his eyes.

"Oh do shut up," Simone said. Smiling at Holly she said, "You're American. Have you ever tried a butterbeer?"

Holly smiled. "No, actually I haven't."

Victoria spoke up, "Then we're off to the Three Broomsticks!" She looked at Paul, who was still pretending to be wounded. "Oh you!" she said, grabbing his hand. "Let's go!"

Holly found herself at ease with Paul, Victoria, and Simone, who all seemed to be good friends. They were all around the same age as Holly, though Victoria was the oldest – she had just turned thirty the month before.

"Merlin, it was awful!" Victoria said, pulling a package of cigarettes from her robes.

"For something so awful, you seemed to enjoy yourself quite nicely," Paul commented lightly, snipping a cigarette from her pack.

"Idiot," she said, with a mock glare. "I had enough firewhisky to make a two hour lecture on flobberworms interesting."

Simone snorted in laughter. Holly giggled.

"So, Holly," Simone drawled, "how do you find Hogwarts?"

Holly hesitated. "I've only been here for less than a day, and I'm homesick already," she admitted reluctantly.

Paul inhaled on the cigarette dramatically, "I told you, McGonagall's bark is worse than her bite."

Holly reached for the cigarettes asking, "May I?"

Victoria nodded, lighting Holly's cigarette for her.

Taking a shaky inhale, Holly said, "It's not just that," and she began to tell them about the MPS fiasco and Argus Filch.

"Yuck," Paul said, "That man has not seen the inside of a bathtub since 1978."

The witches exploded into laughter.

Giggles subsiding, "Tell me," she said, taking another sip of her butterbeer (she found that it was actually very good). "Who is this wizard who swoops the corridors like –"

"Severus Snape," the three chorused.

"Who?"

"He's the Potions Master. Nasty git of a wizard if you ask me. Lives in the dungeon with the rest of the snakes," Victoria said, her lip curling a little.

"Snakes?" Holly inquired.

"Slytherin House," replied Simone.

"I wonder if he washes his hair," Paul said innocently. "The greasy git."

"Paul! That's not very nice!" Simone said, giving Paul a reproachful look, "Severus is our colleague." She snuck a look at Holly to gauge her reaction.

Holly saw this, "He's no friend of mine!" she said vehemently. She told them about running into Professor Snape earlier that evening.

"And he just left you with a glare? Unscathed? Count your lucky stars!" Simone said.

"Simone!" cried Paul, mocking her earlier comment. "He's our _colleague_."

"He's an ass is more like it," Holly blurted out.

The three burst into laughter.

"Simone, Victoria, I like this one," Paul said, grinning. "Can we keep her?"

* * *

The four returned very late to the castle, and found Argus Filch prowling the near empty castle. After receiving a little talk about how unsafe it was to wander the castle in the dead of night, they stumbled away, giggling.

"Oh damn it!" Holly said, smacking her forehead. "I forgot where my chambers are!"

Paul coming to her rescue said, "Don't worry, I remember! They're right next to mine!"

The four paused in the middle of two intersecting corridors. Simone clasped her arms around Holly. "It was so good to meet you! Do come along next week!"

"Next week?" Holly echoed.

Victoria gave her a quick hug before replying, "We do this every week. It saves us from the insanity of teaching."

They laughed, "Well good night, you guys!" Holly said, as Paul began leading her in the opposite direction from the two witches.

"Good night!"

Once they began walking down the opposite corridor, arm in arm, Holly said, "Thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking me along tonight."

Paul took her arm, "Oh hush you," he said teasingly. "I wasn't about to leave you alone to wander the castle with only the old fuddy-duddies to associate with."

Holly grinned. "Well thank you, sir."

"You're welcome m'lady. Now come along. We don't want to run into Filch again. Or worse," he paused, "Snape."

Paul had insisted in seeing Holly's chambers and once inside the dark set of rooms, he sighed.

"What?" Holly asked.

"This is horrible."

"Thanks," she rolled her emerald eyes. Drawing her wand from her pocket, she pointed it at the fireplace. "_Incendio!"_

"That's better."

"You're welcome."

Before it was all said and done, Holly and Paul had transfigured much of the bedroom to a level of comfortable suitable for the night. The hard mattress of the bed had been transfigured into a soft feather mattress; and the thin gray coverlet had been transfigured into a thick silver jacquard duvet, with matching throw pillows (Holly had thought it was a bit much). The plain mahogany furniture, Paul decided to transform into a carved suite of furniture.

"Now let's do the common room!" he said, excitedly.

"I'm tired."

"Tomorrow then?"

"We'll see," she grinned at him.

"Well good night then," he said embracing her.

"Good night, Paul. And thank you," she said earnestly.

"Posh," he said. "Don't worry about it."

Holly sighed as the door clicked shut behind him; at least the day wasn't a total waste.

* * *

_A small girl with white-blonde hair twisted into two tiny pigtails concentrated hard on her task. Crayons were scattered all over the floor and the girl's tiny brow was furrowed in intense concentration. She selected her colors carefully and crafted her picture with equal caution. Finally finished, she grasped her prize carefully and bounded out of the __room__. She came to the end of the hallway and stood in the doorjamb of a __room__ belonging to a teenage girl with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes._

"_Tuna!" the little girl cried._

_The teenager looked at the toddler with disdain._

"_Pitcher! Tuna, Wiwy, me!" she exclaimed happily, thrusting her picture in the teen's face._

_The older girl snatched the picture from the sticky hands of the little girl. Scrutinizing it critically, she declared, "I do not have blue hair!"_

_A soft "plop" resounded through the __room__ and the young girl began to laugh and clap her hands in delight._

"_What did you do?" the teen girl growled._

_The small one just pointed at the teen and laughed happily. The teen grabbed a hand mirror from the dresser nearby._

"_IT'S BLUE!" the teen shrieked. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! YOU LITTLE FREAK!"_

_The teen turned on the small girl, who had stopped laughing and started screaming in fright._

_Suddenly a redheaded girl appeared at the doorway, "What's going on he---?" She stopped at the sight of the other girl's blue hair and burst out laughing._

"_IT'S NOT FUNNY! I'll kill that little freak!"_

_The red-head stepped in between the young girl and her would be attacker, pointing a wand at the older girl's throat, "Touch her and I'll give you blue hair permanently!" she threatened, her green eyes flashing._

_The blonde girl just gave an annoyed sniff and turned her back on them. The little girl felt her protector's arms around her, lifting her off of the ground and carrying her out of the __room__. Once in the hallway, the older girl set the small one on the floor._

"_Are you ok?" she asked worriedly._

"_Tuna's mean," the little girl said miserably. She held out her picture. "See, I draw Wiwy, Tuna, and me."_

_The red-haired girl took the picture and smiled, "I've got purple hair?" she asked gently._

_The toddler nodded bashfully as a "plop" sounded quietly – she pointed to the older girl's hair and smiled._

"_I like it, don't you?" The older girl asked the young one as she examined a lock of long purple hair._

_The little girl launched herself into her arms and said in a muffled voice, "Love you Wiwy."_

_When she let go, she found "Wiwy's" vacant green eyes staring up at her in death. The little girl was older now and she was shaking. Looking around she found herself in the middle of a ruined house, holding on to the dead woman._

"_No," she breathed, "No! Lily, no!" She grasped onto the woman harder, sobbing into her hair._

_A hand clamped down on her shoulder and she turned to face a man with a horrid silver mask, insane red eyes jeering menacingly at her. _

"_NO!" she screamed, struggling. And far off, the sound of a baby's desperate cry resounded through her brain._

"_NO!"_

"NO!" Holly exclaimed in her sleep and launched herself upright in her bed. Her heart was racing and she was sweating. It had felt so real, the sadness, the fear – everything.

"Just a nightmare," she said breathlessly to herself, "A nightmare, nothing more."

Unconvinced at her own words, she shook herself mentally, "Note to self, butterbeer causes nightmares." At her own words she laughed and felt ridiculous for being scared of a nightmare.

Readjusting her covers she lay back on the bed and fell back to sleep straightaway. By morning, the only thing she remembered was a madwoman with blue hair.


	3. The First Week At Hogwarts

**Author's Note:** Thanks to all of my reviewers! Sorry it took so long to get this last chapter out! I've been so busy with graduation and such (I HAVE A DEGREE! YEAH!) Many thanks to Lisa for helping me with the little things!

**Chapter 3 – The First Week at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing created by JK Rowling

Holly was late to breakfast the next morning. She stumbled into the Great Hall to see that most everyone was halfway through breakfast.

"Good morning, sunshine," Paul smirked when Holly took her seat next to him. Simone and Victoria were nowhere to be seen.

"Mmmrph," was her reply as she reached for the coffeepot. Pouring the steaming liquid into her mug, she looked around. Everyone was wide awake and chattering on amongst themselves.

"Rough night?" Paul quipped, taking a big bite of his breakfast. He grinned at her rumpled appearance.

Holly told him about her dream about the crazy lady with blue hair, wrapping her hands around the hot mug, enjoying the warmth.

Paul laughed, "Are you serious?"

Holly nodded, "I swear it was the butterbeer. What's in it anyway?" she asked.

Paul, his mouth full of food, didn't answer.

Holly shrugged and took a deep drink from her mug. Grimacing, she swallowed it.

"What's the matter?" Paul asked.

"This isn't coffee!" she exclaimed angrily.

"Of course it's not. It's tea," he said, looking at her strangely.

Holly glared at the offending tea, "Where's the coffee?"

"Coffee? We don't usually have coffee, dearest. We're English, remember? We drink tea," Paul explained to her as if he were explaining the simple concept of being English and drinking tea to a four year old.

Holly groaned and put her face in her hands.

"Are you hungry?" Paul asked.

"Unnngh," came the reply.

"Come on, you've got to eat _something_," he urged, "We have another day of meetings. Today's agenda is lesson plans."

Holly glared again, "Fine, what do you English eat for breakfast?"

Paul smiled swiftly and handed her a platter of something that looked _very_ unappetizing.

"What is that?" Holly demanded.

Paul smirked with unrestrained glee, "Blood sausage."

Holly turned positively green, "I think I'm going to be sick."

* * *

"Well after lunch I expect all of you to prepare a final draft of your lesson plan for this year. Remember the guidelines I've given. This is due no later than 4:00 this afternoon," McGonagall said, dismissing the rest of the faculty. It had been a three-hour meeting, and this was the first break the staff had been given.

"Great," Holly muttered under her breath to Paul.

"Tell me about it," Paul replied in the same tone of voice.

"I'm starving," Holly said, "What are we doing for lunch?"

By that time Simone and Victoria had caught up to them, "How about going into Hogsmeade for lunch?" Simone suggested.

"Wonderful idea," Paul said, with his usual gusto.

"No butterbeer this time," Holly laughed.

Simone and Victoria exchanged puzzled looks and Paul grinned.

"Last night I had the strangest dream about a madwoman with blue hair," Holly explained.

"Perhaps it's because you're in a new place?" Victoria supplied.

The foursome had reached the Entrance Hall when a voice called out from behind, "Professors!"

All four turned to look. It was Headmistress McGonagall.

The Headmistress swept up, "Where are you going?"

"The Three Broomsticks," Paul said.

"What about the lesson plans?" McGonagall's patience was wearing thin.

"We thought to do them after lunch," Simone said.

"I think it would be prudent for all of you to stay here and work on them. You can take your lunch in the Great Hall," the Headmistress said in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

"What's the difference between here and the Three Broomsticks?" Holly questioned; the words left her mouth before she could bite them back.

McGonagall's face went white, "Professor Quiggle, do you find it absolutely necessary to question each and everything that I say?"

"Well, no. I just thought it might be better to get out of the castle for a while," Holly explained.

The other three watched the spectacle before them with shocked amusement.

"Professor Quiggle, if you would like to continue your employment with Hogwarts School, you would do well to cease your questions," McGonagall said coldly.

Holly's stomach fell. She really couldn't afford to lose her job. "Sorry, Headmistress. We'll be glad to stay here," she replied resignedly.

McGonagall smiled thinly, "Good. I expect to see you all in the Staff Lounge no later than 4 o'clock."

Simone, Victoria, and Paul watched in amazement as the Headmistress walked away.

"You've got guts, don't you?" Victoria breathed.

"What? Why does she insist on keeping us all on such a short leash?" Holly asked aloud.

"Dumbledore," Paul explained grimly.

Simone added, "She didn't always used to be like this. She was always a bit strict, but after this summer, I think she lost it."

"Well I hope she gets it back," Holly replied in a dour tone.

"Don't we all?" Victoria answered.

Silence prevailed for a few moments, before Paul burst out, "Well come on then! Last one to the Great Hall has to sit next to Filch!"

* * *

After lunch, the four were headed to an empty classroom to draft their lesson plans. Holly had decided at lunch that English food did not agree with her tastes in the least, and made a mental note to Owl her family to send her packages of Muggle junk food. It had only been two days, and already she was desperately craving a cheeseburger and a box of Oreo cookies. So caught up was Holly in her fantasies of Oreo cookies and cheeseburgers, that she ran right smack into a stone column at the edge of one of the main corridors. Her face met the stone with a sickening crack and blood immediately began to pour down her face. Stars blazed in her vision.

"Merlin's beard!" Paul gasped, paling as he saw his friend's injury.

Simone and Victoria turned and their eyes widened at Holly's accident.

"Hospital Wing," Simone instructed as Victoria thrust her handkerchief at Holly in an attempt to staunch the blood running down her face.

Paul, meanwhile, stood rooted to the spot, pale and gaping – utterly useless.

As the two witches led their absent-minded friend towards the infirmary, Victoria yanked the sleeve of Paul's teal blue merino wool robe in a motion to follow.

"What happened?" Simone asked.

"I was walking and dreaming about cheeseburgers when I ran smack into the wall," Holly explained in an unintelligible and muffled voice. Nobody really understood her and just nodded uncomprehendingly in response. Luckily, the Hospital Wing was only a few corridors away. When they reached the entrance, Madam Pomfrey was bustling about in her usual fashion over the Potions Master; it looked like she was applying a salve to a wound on his arm.

"Poppy! She's bleeding! It's so horrible!" Paul cried out, though it came out as more of a horrified screaming jumble of words.

Madam Pomfrey, startled by their entrance, nearly dropped the jar of salve all over the surly Potions Professor, spilling quite a copious amount onto his jet black robes.

Severus grimaced as the salve ran down his robes, collecting in a small pool at his feet. Forgetting all about her previous patient, Poppy Pomfrey shoved the jar of salve into the irritated professor's hands and nearly tripped over herself in an attempt to reach the Transfiguration Professor, whose front was nearly covered in blood.

"My stars!" cried the medi-witch, "What happened?"

Holly tried to explain in with her unintelligible and muffled words, but apparently the information didn't get to the healer's ears either. She stared, dumbfounded, as Madam Pomfrey immediately stopped the bleeding and righted Holly's broken nose.

Holly winced in pain as the bones knit themselves back together.

"Is she going to die?" Paul cried out.

Simone elbowed him sharply, muttering, "Bloody fool."

Poppy gave Paul a stern look, before replying, "Professor Osbourne. It was a broken nose, for pity's sake. Get a hold of yourself, man."

Paul blushed.

Severus, who had been watching the whole situation with a mix of amusement and irritation, smirked at the effeminate man in disdain.

"Honestly, Osbourne," he said smoothly, "It's as if you've never seen blood before."

Paul turned a deeper shade of crimson before straightening his posture, "Severus," he said stiffly, acknowledging the dark wizard.

It was right then that Madam Pomfrey remembered him, "Oh Severus!" she cried, yanking the jar of salve from his hands, "I am so sorry – " she paused and looked him up and down, "how did you get that all over yourself?" she asked quizzically.

Severus scowled and drew his lips into a menacingly straight line and said nothing.

The foursome, forgot about the Potions Master, and began to talk amongst themselves while Madam Pomfrey attempted to pull the salve from Professor Snape's robes with a _Scourgify_ charm.

"Well, what happened?" Victoria demanded.

"I told you, I wasn't paying attention and I walked into a really hard stone wall," Holly said quietly, her cheeks flushed scarlet with embarrassment.

"You walked into the wall?" Paul shrieked.

Simone elbowed Paul again, "Will you please shut up?" she hissed.

Paul ignored this, "Pray tell, how does one walk into a wall?" he asked, laughter creeping into his voice.

Holly smiled falsely at him, "When one comes to a place that has absolutely inedible food and one is starving and dreaming of a big fat greasy cheeseburger rather than those _idiotic_ lesson plans. _That's_ how one walks into a wall, dearest." Her voice was tight and strained. The last thing she wanted was for that ass of a wizard to hear about her latest foibles.

"Greasy cheeseburger?" Paul looked disgusted, "Disgusting."

Holly looked evenly disgusted, "Blood sausage," she replied, "Absolute nastiness."

As Madam Pomfrey finished with Severus, he couldn't help but overhear the conversation on the other side of the wing. He could have laughed when he had heard that that capricious American had actually walked into a wall.

"There you are, Severus," Poppy said, "Remember to come and see me twice daily for the application of that potion, it's not that I doubt your ability to apply a potion yourself, it's just I'd rather record its progress. Amazing stuff this is. It will have that scar gone in almost no time at all. It's a blessed thing too, that the famed Chinese Potions Master Jin Li came to the last International Wizarding Medicine Conference last month. Incredible that he could create a potion that could counter Dark Magic, don't you think Severus?"

Severus' hand went instantly to his left forearm where the remnant of his Dark Mark was hidden beneath the dark sleeve of his robes, "Right," he said softly, nodding slightly, "Thank you, Poppy."

Madam Pomfrey smiled at the disgruntled man, "You are quite welcome. Now off with you. I've got to check on my patient!"

Severus turned to leave; as usual his black robes were billowing out behind him like a threatening storm cloud.

Holly watched him leave and pondered aloud, "Does he always mean to look intimidating?"

Victoria gave an unladylike snort and Paul giggled.

Simone smoothed out a non-existent wrinkle in her robes, "He probably doesn't mean it, it's probably just a part of who he is," she said, throwing a disdainful look at the door through which Severus had just exited.

Holly rolled her eyes, "Whatever," she sighed, "He probably gets his jollies from making everyone believe that he's important."

* * *

The four wizards finished their lesson plans just in time to escape McGonagall's wrath. The Headmistress snapped up their plans and gave them a small smile on their way out of her office. For now, Holly Quiggle's employment with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry remained intact.

The next three days went by without incident. There were no more encounters with Professor Snape, nor were there any further altercations with the Headmistress, _nor_ had there been any more disturbing dreams for Holly. The night of the third day, Friday, all that seemed to change.

The teachers were taking their dinner, as usual, in the Great Hall. As usual, Holly was complaining about the distinct differences between American and British cuisine; and as usual, Paul was quickly snipping up her comments with witty retorts of his own. The staff was halfway through dinner when an enormous black owl flew in through the high windows, headed straight for the staff table. The huge bird encircled the Staff Table a few times before unceremoniously dropping a small parcel into Holly's bowl of soup, splattering not only Holly herself, but Paul and Simone as well. The three glared up at the imposing creature who was perched on the edge of the table, awaiting a reply.

Picking the parcel from her soup with two fingers, Holly quickly performed a _Scourgify_ charm on it before opening it. Once the letter had been removed from its packaging, Paul snatched from the witch's hands and began to read aloud to his three partners in crime.

Holly shrugged helplessly at the wizard.

Paul noisily cleared his throat and began, "Dear Professor Quiggle, On behalf of all the staff here at MPS we deeply apologize in the delay of delivering your things to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We will have your parcels delivered to Hogwarts at eight o'clock this evening. Please sign this letter upon your receipt and send it back by our owl. Again, we deeply apologize for this delay and are enclosing the latest copies of _CosmoWitch UK_, _Witch Weekly_, and _Wizarding Today_ magazines as to make amends for our delay. Thank you and we hope you will continue to use our service for all of your shipping needs. Very sincerely, Mitch Smalls"

Holly glanced at the rest of the bundle, which Paul and Victoria attacked with zeal. A couple of magazines to make up for not having clean underwear or a toothbrush for the last five days? There was only so much one could do with a _Scourgify_ charm. Holly rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Do you have a quill?" she asked.

Paul, who was already deeply engrossed with an article in _CosmoWitch UK_, fumbled in an inner pocket of his chartreuse-colored robes and produced a fluffy electric blue quill feather.

Holly took it and smirked, but nobody on their end of the table seemed to take notice. She smoothed the letter from MPS so as to write her reply when she realized the quill held no ink, nor did Paul produce a bottle of ink either.

"Ink would be good too," she said dryly. Her friends paid no attention. Sighing, Holly took out her wand and transfigured Victoria's dinner plate into a bottle of black ink. She scrawled her response at the bottom of the parchment as Mr. Smalls had indicated and tied it to the impatient owl's leg. It flew off immediately, and as Holly turned to face Simone, her blazing green eyes met a pair of dark onyx eyes. Severus Snape was staring at her.

They held gazes for the briefest of moments before the hook-nosed professor broke eye contact and started talking to the Headmistress. Holly felt an involuntary shiver down her spine and began to ponder the fact before Simone broke her reverie and said, "Honestly, I just don't understand how Gilderoy Lockhart still manages to achieve _Witch Weekly_'s Sexiest Wizard Alive award, when he can't even tell the difference between his own mother and a hippogriff."

* * *

After dinner, Holly, Paul, Simone, and Victoria made their way to the Entrance Hall to await the MPS delivery wizards. Fortunately, they did not have to wait for long. After about ten minutes of waiting, a delivery-wizard arrived by broomstick; even in the dim light no visible trunks were in sight.

"Where are my things?" Holly muttered to Victoria.

"Perhaps they forgot?" she supplied.

The newly-arrived wizard dismounted his broom and stepped into the light of the Entrance Hall, and all four of them almost fainted with shock. The wizard stood very tall with dark brown hair that flopped quite sexily over his cerulean blue eyes. Even under his MPS uniform robes, they could all tell that he had quite a good looking physique.

Disconcerted by the gaping stares of the Professors, the wizard smiled and pulled a clipboard from his robes.

"Er, yes, I have a delivery for Professor Quiggle," he said.

The four Professors didn't say anything at first.

The delivery-wizard gave them all a strange look before Holly regained her composure, "Yes, that's me."

The MPS wizard flashed a dazzling white smile that made Paul and Simone swoon.

He held out the clipboard, "Sign here, please."

Holly looked past him into the night, "Um, where are my trunks?"

The delivery-wizard looked perplexed, "Trunks?"

Holly's eyes grew wide and her expression stormy, "Yes," she responded in a tight voice, "My trunks."

The delivery-wizard looked surprised for a moment as well before his face broke into a smile again. "I'm just kidding," he said, "I've got them."

Simone was perhaps the only one who found the humor in the situation. She giggled girlishly as the delivery-wizard reached into his robes and pulled out Holly's trunks, which had been shrunk down to the size of Galleons.

Holly carefully snatched her belongings from the outstretched hand of the wizard before her and set them on the ground.

"Sign here, please," he said again, pushing the clipboard towards the angry blonde witch.

"You hold on," she said, pulling her wand from her robes. Pointing it at her trunks, she said, "_Engorgio_." Her trunks swelled back to full size. After satisfactorily examining the outside of her trunks for her name and address, she gave a cold look at the delivery-wizard and yanked the clipboard from his hand and scrawled her name with the attached quill.

She made a move to hand back the clipboard to the wizard but found him otherwise engaged in conversation with Simone.

"Simone," he was saying, "What a beautiful name. Of course I expected nothing less. With a beauty like yours, I assumed you would have a beautiful name."

"Oh, Robert," she gushed.

Holly exchanged quizzical glances with Victoria, who rolled her eyes. Paul, of course, was paying no attention to them, as his icy blue gaze was riveted to Robert's rear end.

Holly turned to Victoria and said, "Shall we leave the peanut gallery and take these up to my chambers?"

Victoria pulled her wand from her pocket and said, "Best idea you've had all day." She pointed her wand at the trunks, "_Locomotor trunks_."

It was late before Holly and Victoria had finished unpacking only Holly's clothes (they had decided to leave the rest for the next day). As Victoria's chambers were on the other side of the castle, near the Hufflepuff dormitories, she decided to stay the night in Holly's chambers. Neither of them had heard from Paul or Simone for the rest of the night and the two were speculating on what had become of their two friends.

"I think," said Holly, transfiguring the drab sofa in her common room into a comfortable bed, "That Simone and that cute moron Robert will be on a date by the end of the week."

Victoria laughed as she conjured some pillows, "Perhaps Paul will be there as well."

Holly wrinkled her nose, "You think that Simone is into that kind of stuff?"

"Oh no! That's not what I meant!" the Arithmancy Professor said quickly, blushing, "I meant that Paul will try to seduce Robert for his own."

"Oh," replied Holly, conjuring a blanket for the bed, "Well Robert doesn't strike me as being _that way_, you know?"

Victoria laughed, "We'll see."

Holly yawned, stretching her arms overhead. "Well, I've got to get some sleep if I'm ever going to survive McGonagall's meeting tomorrow."

"Good night then," Victoria said in a drowsy voice, settling down into the newly transfigured bed.

"Night."

* * *

_Holly awoke to the pressure of a kiss upon her lips. She could feel the smoothness of the cool silk sheets beneath her and the warm pressure of a body moving above her-inside of her. She breathed deeply, the sandalwood scent of her lover meeting her nostrils. Her hands were entangled in the silky hair of the one who was kissing her so fervently. She felt every caress of her lover, her senses blinding her. _

_The kiss broke suddenly and Holly opened her eyes. She felt her lover's lips nibble on her neck and could not stop the name that threatened to escape her lips, "Severus."_

Holly awoke with a start, her heart pounding her chest. _What the hell is wrong with me? _she thought frantically, still feeling the heat of his hands upon her. _Severus? Severus Snape? The one and only Ass Extraordinaire? The Severus Snape who hasn't washed his hair since 1989? Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew._

She tried to close her eyes again, only to be met with the picture of making love with the acerbic Potions Master. She felt revolted; she felt violated, yet strangely intrigued.

_Oh yeah, can you imagine if that had been real? _She thought in annoyance, as she actually began to think about it, she squeezed her eyes shut as if to remove the thought from her brain altogether.

_Ok, no. I will NOT think like this. Must have been the soup at dinner. Yes. That's it. The soup. I will never eat soup again. _She breathed deeply as if to clear her mind, and readjusted her blankets. She fell back to sleep immediately and was yet granted with another dream.

"_Goyle, take her," came a voice, rasping with evil. The loud wailing of a baby nearby did not drown out the rasp of the voice._

_Holly turned around to find that the owner of the voice was a very tall man with ruby-colored eyes. Frozen with fear, Holly could only watch the man as he snapped his fingers and another man, who she presumed was Goyle, whose face was covered with an imposing white mask advanced towards her. She willed her feet to move, but they would not. _

_She saw the man with the red eyes headed off towards her left, towards the cry of the baby._

"_No!" she cried, her body finally hearing her mind's frantic call. She struggled to race after the red-eyed man, to save the baby, but strong arms pulled her back and roughly shoved her to the ground._

_She kicked, flailed, swung, and bit as hard as she could, but this man pinned her down easily, as if there was no effort involved. The man looked her over with a perverted gleam in his eye. "Oh, yes," he said, "I'm definitely going to enjoy you."_

_Holly's eyes widened and she struggled harder as the man tore off her skirt. She felt his disgusting mouth on her neck, and his fingers shoving roughly in the most private of places. Holly felt the urge to vomit heavily in her throat. Tears welled in her eyes – not from pain, but from shame. Before this monster could do anything else, Holly felt the weight of his body thrown off of her. She looked to see who it was and saw a huge man. He knelt down next to her and reached out and grabbed her arm._

"_No! Get off! No!" she screamed and kicked with all of her might._

"_Holly!" cried a voice, as the grip on her arm grew tighter._

"_No! Stop! Please!" _

"_Holly! Holly! Wake up!"_

Holly's eyes opened. Her normally friendly green eyes were frantic with fear and she was shaking uncontrollably.

"Holly! Holly! Are you all right?" came a frantic voice on her right.

Holly focused her green eyes on the owner of the voice. It was Victoria. Tears welled up in her eyes and she sat up, drawing her knees to her chest.

"Don't let him come back," she begged.

Victoria gathered the blonde witch into her arms, "Don't let who come back?" she asked softly.

Suddenly the door to Holly's chambers burst open and Simone, Paul, and the DADA instructor, Remus Lupin burst into the room ruffled in their nightclothes with their wands brandished in front of them.

"What is going on in here?" Simone demanded, upon seeing Holly cowering in Victoria's arms.

"We heard screaming, are you two all right?" Lupin asked calmly.

Before anyone could answer, the Headmistress, in her usual tartan bathrobe and kerchief, and Professor Snape, equally disheveled in his nightclothes, appeared at the doorway, wands at the ready.

"What on earth is going on in here?" McGonagall demanded, upon seeing almost half the teaching staff gathered around the Transfiguration Professor's bed.

"A-a nightmare," Victoria ventured.

Severus rolled his eyes and thrust his wand back into the pocket of his black bathrobe.

Holly's red-rimmed eyes saw the Potions Master and her face flushed scarlet. "It's stupid, it was nothing, really," she said, her voice still carrying traces of hysterics.

McGonagall sighed heavily.

"You call that nothing? I was in a good sleep and I heard you all the way to my own chambers," Simone said, "What happened?"

Holly wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, "I promise, nothing."

Lupin looked very concerned, "Perhaps we can help?"

Holly started to protest once more before Victoria interrupted, "A nightmare," she said, "It was five minutes before I could wake her."

"What about?" Paul asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Holly said stubbornly, "Sorry I woke you all up."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Severus was the first to break the silence, "Well now that we know that Professor Quiggle isn't being attacked by wild puffskeins, I think it would be appropriate to venture that we can all go back to our chambers," he said sarcastically, sneering at the rest of the faculty.

Lupin pierced Snape with a glare, which was returned with equal force.

McGonagall sighed again, "Well I'm relieved to see that everything is all right. I would recommend to Professor Quiggle that she spend the rest of the night under a Dreamless Sleep Potion, so that we may all be able to sleep through the night," she said, her voice crisp with irritation, "Severus, if you would please administer the potion."

"Of course, Minerva," he replied, his voice cold and flat. He turned and stalked back down to the dungeons to fetch the potion as requested.

The Headmistress turned to face the others, "I am going back to bed, I would suggest you all do the same. Tomorrow will be a long day," she said pointedly before readjusting her tartan kerchief, "Good night."

"Good night, Headmistress," came the chorus of tired voices.

McGonagall left and that's when Paul unleashed on Holly, "What in the hell scared you so badly?" he demanded.

Holly cast a furtive glance at the DADA Professor.

Simone caught on and waved her hand dismissively, "Remus is all right. Go on then."

Holly took a deep shaky breath, "It's really horrible. There's a little girl, maybe ten years old, and I see everything through her eyes. There was a huge disgusting man in black robes with a white mask over his face---"

"A Death Eater?" Remus interrupted, his brow furrowed.

"Is that what they are?" Holly countered, "Pathetic little men who cower behind big scary masks? That rape little girls?"

Nobody said anything, so Holly took it as affirmation of her previous statement. "Death Eaters," she snorted derisively, "Idiots. Pathetic. I guess it must make them some sort of masculine hero to be able to rape children." Tears sprung to her eyes once more.

"So, what happened then?" Paul ventured quietly.

"One of those _Death Eaters_ (she said the word in a disgusted tone) grabbed the girl, well me I guess, and threw me on the ground and started to rape---"

Holly stopped when she noticed Severus at the door, a stormy expression on his face. Apparently, he had heard Holly's endearing description of what she felt was a typical Death Eater.

"What is it, Severus?" Remus asked, forgetting McGonagall's request.

Severus displayed a small vial of red liquid, "Dreamless Sleep, you idiot."

He walked soundlessly over to Holly, who by this time was as red as the vial of potion. Their eyes met and Holly could only see her earlier dream of the two of them. Breaking the gaze she looked down at the proffered potion. Almost as if entranced, she looked at his hands, slender and white with long fingers. She could almost feel the trail they left on her body in the dream. Her reverie was broken by an acid voice, "Professor Quiggle, are you sure something didn't come into your chambers and addle your mind?"

Holly looked up at him and her blush deepened, "Ye-eah," she said, lifting the potion from his hand. Her fingers brushed his and she wanted to die from embarrassment at the shade of red that she turned when she touched him.

She stared at the potion for a minute, before Severus came out with, "Do you need instructions on how to take a potion, Professor?"

Holly was positively puce, she quickly uncorked the vial and took the potion, which tasted like the way old socks smell. "Gross, that is so disgusting," she sputtered.

The Potions Master rolled his eyes and held out his hand. Holly slowly put the vial back into his hand, still muttering about the taste.

"Thanks, though," she said suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"I said thanks, Severus," Holly said, her eyes glazing over with drowsiness.

Severus gave her a strange look before he swept out of Holly's chambers, closing the door behind him.

All of the other Professors in the room stared at her, eager for questions, but to no avail. Holly had fallen asleep.


	4. The Students Arrive

**Author's Note:** Many thanks to all who have reviewed my story, and to **lucidity**who as always helps my story from becoming the horror of fan fiction - Mary Sue! Now, onto Chapter 4!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing created by J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter 4 – The Students Arrive**

Two weeks passed and Professor Holly Quiggle had not slept in nearly a week, as she had had the same recurring Death Eater nightmare three more times since it had began nearly a fortnight before, thus she was afraid to close her eyes for longer than two minutes at a time. To help her survive the before-term meetings, Paul had ordered Stay-Awake Solution, a potion that helped the drinker stay awake even if they hadn't slept in more than a month (or so the label said), from an advertisement in _Witch Weekly._

Paul wasn't the only one to help Holly either. Simone constantly pleaded with Holly to try to get some sleep under a Dreamless Sleep Potion (which Holly refused because she declared that she did not want to become addicted to something that reeked of old socks) – she even went so far as to "borrow" a phial of Dreamless Sleep Potion, along with a significant quantity of Ashwinder eggs (which was probably for her own personal agenda to brew a Love Potion to seduce the MPS delivery-wizard, Robert, before Paul could snag him away) from the Potion Master's private stores, which consequently had Professor Snape in a boiling rage for the next two days, accusing the most unlikely of people for the theft, including little Professor Flitwick. Flitwick, upon hearing the accusation, promptly charmed Professor Snape's shoes to make a quacking noise as he walked until he apologized to the tiny Professor, which was six long hours of endless teasing from the rest of the teaching staff.

However concerned her friends might have been, none of them had any motivation to tell the Headmistress, as Holly had already been threatened with her employment once already.

It was the morning of the arrival of the students, and all the faculty had been gathered for one last meeting before the Hogwarts' Express brought back the students who had been on holiday for the past two months.

"Good morning, staff," Minerva McGonagall greeted the faculty with a warm tone that had been poignantly absent since the previous school term.

Holly's green eyes were glazed over in fatigue as McGonagall went on about how successful she expected the coming term to be and how they should not waver from all they had discussed during the summer meetings. While her colleagues listened with an amused interest, Holly wasn't listening at all. She was staring at her hands, trying very hard to stay awake and inwardly cursing herself for leaving the vial of the Stay-Awake Solution on the desk in her office.

Focusing on her hands and mentally reciting the spells in her head alphabetically, she was able to retain consciousness.

"_Accio…Alohamora…Aparecium…Avis…"_

"You all have worked very hard this past week in adapting to this new curriculum that Hogwarts has adopted…" Professor McGonagall was saying, addressing the staff in an unusually warm tone.

"_Evanesco…Expecto Patronum…Expelliarmus…"_

"…suspect we will have a very successful term this year…"

"_Obliviate…Petrificus Totalus…"_

"….Potter's last term with us…"

Holly was having a hard time remembering every spell she had ever learned and reciting it in her head as her eyelids became heavier than a complete set of Miranda Goshawk's spell books. She felt herself falling further into unconsciousness until she glanced up at the Potions Master. He was sitting diagonally from her, towards the head of the table where the Headmistress sat and listening to McGonagall's words with a bored interest.

Holly began to take a fascinated interest in thoroughly examining the Potions Professor as spell recitation was starting to prove to be the most ineffective means of keeping awake. _Check out that huge schnoz,_ she thought, fascinated by the discovery_, Gods, his nose is huge, sorta curved too. _She laughed inwardly to herself, yet continued to scrutinize every feature of Severus Snape. _Big nose, greasy black hair, glaring beady eyes, austere black robes, and a disgusting attitude to match. It's official. Severus Snape is the ambassador from Hell. _By this time, Paul and Victoria had noticed her gaping at Professor Snape and Simone elbowed her sharply in the ribs.

"Ah," Holly hissed, sucking in her breath sharply in pain, "What the hell was that for?" she hissed.

"You were in Holly Land and you were focusing on Snape as if he was the most interesting person in this room," Paul whispered with a disgusted look on his face as Victoria and Simone snorted in quiet laughter.

"Ew," said Holly, "Are you serious?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"Well Professors, I expect that the Hogwarts' Express will be arriving later this afternoon, around five o'clock. You are free to do whatever you wish until that time, but you must be in the Great Hall seated at the Staff Table, no later than 4:30. Am I clear?"

A chorus of "Yes, Headmistress" resounded through the Lounge.

"Good," said the Headmistress, with a ghost of a smile, "Have a nice afternoon, and I will see you at 4:30 this afternoon."

The Professors began to rise from the table, when Paul noticed that Holly's head landed on the tabletop before her with a quiet _thud._. He nudged Victoria and Simone who advised him to leave her there to sleep. Remembering, Holly's determination to stay awake, Paul waited until they had departed the Staff Lounge and then touched her with his wand, "_Ennervate_"

Holly's emerald eyes opened blearily, "Wha?"

"Looks like someone forgot their Stay-Awake Solution," he said teasingly.

Holly sat up straight and rubbed her weary eyes, "Yeah, I did," she said, her voice full of sleep.

Paul took the seat next to her and took her hand, "Holly, honestly, how long do you think you can go without sleep? I mean, I don't do Potions or anything, but I don't really think you're supposed to use the Stay-Awake stuff for prolonged periods of time."

"Yeah, well I was all right in Potions in school. This stuff doesn't seem to have any ill effects," she said, resting her head in her hands.

Paul frowned, "Perhaps we should ask Severus."

"Are you kidding me?" Holly exclaimed, dropping her hands to her lap and staring at Paul, "Why would we want to do that?"

Paul gave her a look, "Um, probably because he's more proficient in Potions than anyone else in this school?"

Holly yawned, "Relax, ok? It's not like it's Dreamless Sleep or anything."

Paul's expression told her he didn't agree.

Holly sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose, "Fine, fine. We'll go to the library this afternoon and find a Potions book and see. Satisfied?"

Paul nodded, "Fine. But still I'd rather you talk to Snape, seeing as how he is the Potions Guru and all."

"I don't think so. I'd rather see Pomfrey than him."

Paul pretended to look offended, "You mean you _don't_ find the pale skin and greasy hair sexily appealing?"

Holly pierced him with a glare, "You're sick, man."

Paul grinned sunnily, "But isn't that why you love me so?"

Holly rolled her eyes in response.

Paul laughed.

"Let's go to my office. I've got the Stay Awake there," she said suddenly, rising from her seat, "If I don't take it soon, you'll have to carry me."

Within twenty minutes, Holly was wide awake and ready to go and Paul had forgotten about his idea to ask the Potions Master about the safety of the potion. Simone had the bright idea of going into Hogsmeade, to which Victoria agreed to go, while Paul and Holly opted to stay back and take it easy.

"Well, I think I'm going to re-arrange my rooms today," Holly said, her green eyes, bright and glassy. It would be the fifth time that week that she had rearranged her quarters. As the rest of the world was asleep during the night and she was wide awake, she filled her time re-arranging her quarters and re-reading Miranda Goshawk's entire collection of _Standard Book of Spells_. It was probably safe to assume that our dear Transfiguration Professor was slowly going insane due to lack of sleep.

"Oooh! I haven't seen your rooms since last week when you finally got your trunks delivered. Oh, speaking of deliveries, guess who's going out for a butterbeer with that cutie from MPS this Saturday night?" Paul squealed, taking Holly's arm and steering her towards the corridor where her chambers were.

"Flitwick?" Holly guessed, her brain was a little fuzzy.

Paul sighed, "No," he stressed.

"Oh, well who then?"

"Me, you daft cow!"

"He was kind of stupid though," Holly said absently.

"Well he's much better than your latest crush," Paul said huffily.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on! I saw you staring at Snape like some lovesick kappa."

Holly stopped in mid-stride, "Ok," she said, smoothing her hair behind her ears, "First of all, if you ever compare me to a kappa again I'll hex you into next week. Secondly, I may be mistaken, but I thought I just heard you say that _I_ have a crush on Snape?"

"That's because I did."

"You're out of your damn mind."

"Then why were you staring at him during the entirety of the staff meeting this morning?" Paul countered.

"I was not staring at him!" Holly protested, "I was reciting spells in my head."

Paul smiled knowingly, "Ok, ok," he said, a smile playing at his lips, "Whatever you say."

They had reached her quarters and Holly unlocked the door and shoved her friend inside, "You know, sometimes I really hate you."

"It seems I have struck a nerve," Paul said, trying very hard not to laugh.

Holly closed the door and flopped onto her couch, closing her eyes and giving in to the warm, gentle lull of long missed sleep.

Just as she was in "the zone" – rather, the heavenly place between awake and sleep, she was suddenly yanked back to consciousness by Paul's excited screech.

"Oh holy Merlin!" he shrieked, "You've got a Sonorus 4000!"

Holly got up, silently cursing Paul. "What?"

"A Sonorus 4000! What does it play?" he replied, bouncing while pointing to a black box on Holly's desk.

"Oh yeah, this one plays some Muggle recorded CDs and cassette tapes," Holly replied, yawning widely.

"Wow! These are really hard to come by," Paul said, "I've got the Sonorus 3000 and that only plays cassette tapes. When did you get yours?"

"I got it when I graduated from school. I had had really good grades and was at the top of my class, _and_ I had won awards of scholarship from the National Board of Transfigurative Magic and the American Council of Transfiguring Potions and Charms for my final project, so Mom and Dad decided that they would indulge my unhealthy obsession with Muggle music," Holly grinned at the memory.

"Merlin's Beard," Paul breathed, looking up from Holly's Sonorus 4000.

"What?" Holly asked.

"You're a geek then," he teased.

"I am not!"

"Awards of scholarship from the National Board of Transfigurative Magic and the American Council of Transfiguring Potion whatzits," he mocked, "Gracious me, I'm standing in the presence of the Transfiguration Guru. I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy," he continued, dropping a mock-bow in front of her.

Holly pierced her friend with a glare, "Would you like to see how capable I am at human to insect transfiguration?"

"If it's anything like your ability to pay attention to things around you, then yes, give it your best shot."

Holly raised her wand, but before she could finish the incantation, Paul raised up his hands in surrender, "I was only kidding you know. You really need to get a grip, dearest."

Holly glared at Paul again, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Paul gave her a knowing look, "Maybe it's the Stay-Awake Solution, or maybe it's just the lack of sleep, but you are really losing your grip on reality. Transfiguring your friends into bugs and," he paused, making a face, "appraising _Severus_ as _if_ he had just been announced winner of _Witch Weekly_'s Sexiest Wizard Alive Award. Merlin's beard, woman, what's gotten into you?"

A few moments of heavy silence prevailed before Holly levitated a box full of music towards Paul, "Here," she said, "Check these out. Mostly American artists, but a few I think you would appreciate."

Paul set the box on his lap, and gave Holly a stern look, "You can't just drop the subject, you know. Everyone's worried --- Carly Simon!"

"What?"

"You've got Carly Simon! And Elton John!"

Holly laughed, grateful for the momentary break. She didn't want to think at the moment or face the previous topic of conversation.

Paul was hugging the discs to his chest, still pawing through the box like a small child does at Christmas with his presents.

"Abba! I haven't heard them in years!" Paul was in heaven, as he started to hum "Dancing Queen."

"Are you going to play anything or are you just going to fawn over my music all day?" Holly asked, grinning at her friend.

But Paul didn't answer; the wardrobe door was flung open, revealing all of Holly's new robes.

"Paolo Pontaliano!" he cried, pulling a bottle green robe from the wardrobe and draping it over himself.

Holly was doubled over in laughter at the sight of her usually very polished friend disheveled with eyes bright with excitement and a witch's robe draped over him like a pair of curtains clutching the box of Muggle music possessively in his grip.

"Oh honey, where have you been all of my life?" Paul cried, embracing her. He stopped suddenly and lowered himself onto one knee, "Marry me," he said breathlessly, holding both arms outstretched with his proposal.

Holly was too bent over in laughter to answer.

* * *

Simone and Victoria had returned to the Castle to find the other two members of their group dancing about Holly's chambers, dressed in her new robes, dancing to Elton John's Greatest Hits.

It was Holly who spotted them first, "Hello," she said happily, waving at the duo at the door.

"What's going on in here?" Victoria asked.

"Where's the music coming from?" asked Simone.

Paul ran up to them and started explaining so fast that Holly didn't have a chance to answer either question.

"Holly is so cool! She's got robes from Pontaliano _and_ she's got a Sonorus 4000!" Paul babbled excitedly, almost jumping up and down with glee.

"A what?" Simone asked.

"A Sonorus 4000," Paul explained as if a Sonorus 4000 was a commonplace item in every wizarding household.

"And that would be?" Victoria prodded.

Paul huffed heavily, before launching into his monologue. "A Sonorus 4000 is the wizarding world's answer to playing Muggle music without the electronic capabilities. It looks like a Muggle stereo system, only it can magnify the sound of the music to fill an entire stadium of people. It can play different types of media such as Muggle recorded CDs, cassette tapes, and even vinyl records."

The blank looks on everyone's faces made Paul sigh heavily, "Haven't you ever heard of Muggling for Wizards?"

"No," Simone said slowly, "Please enlighten us."

"Muggling for Wizards is a catalogue of Muggle items that are modified to fit the standard of living in the wizarding world. Like this Sonorus for example. There are other items as well, such as the fellytone. That enables wizards and witches to be able to talk directly to each other when there is no Floo Network connection available."

More blank looks.

"Honestly, you all need to get out more often," Paul said, examining his nails.

Suddenly, a blue throw pillow came zooming out of nowhere, hitting Paul on the head.

"Ow!" he cried, "What was that for?"

"Just because you're Muggle obsessed, doesn't mean we all are, ya wanker," Victoria declared.

Paul flushed scarlet, "I'm not a wanker!" he protested.

Everyone laughed, except Holly who innocently questioned, "What's a wanker?"

* * *

Paul and the others had left Holly to ready herself for the Start of Term Feast, but not before Paul left borrowing Holly's brand new bottle green robes and making sure she had enough Stay-Awake to last the Feast.

Holly readied herself quickly, putting on her brand-new scarlet and gold robes, and made her way straight to the library to research a potion that would have the same effects as Dreamless Sleep, but without its addicting and unpleasant olfactory qualities.

"Good afternoon, Professor Quiggle," said the thin woman at the head desk in the Library.

"Good afternoon, Madam Pince. I've got a quick question for you," Holly said.

"Go on then," replied the librarian.

"Have you got a copy of _Moste Potente Potions_ or anything comparable to it?"

Madam Pince gave Holly a strange look, "Why would you need anything on Potions?"

Holly gave a strained smile, "Just researching something," she said.

"Why don't you go see Severus? I'm sure he'd be more helpful than that old Potions book."

"Oh, no, s'ok. I wouldn't want to bother him, he, ah, seems like a pretty busy man," she said, offhandedly, silently thinking, _If one more person mentions that name, I'm going to scream bloody murder._

Pince smiled, "Well, here he comes now. Good afternoon, Severus."

_Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!_

Holly winced, before turning around to face the surly Professor, "Good afternoon, Irma," he replied, his voice cool, "Professor," he continued, acknowledging Holly.

"Professor Snape," she said, before continuing, "Madam Pince, if you would please, let me know if you had the book I was looking for. I've got to meet Professor Sinistra before the Feast," Holly pleaded almost desperately to the librarian.

But apparently Irma Pince had a sick sense of humor. "Severus, Professor Quiggle here is researching something on Potions; actually looking for a copy of _Moste Potente Potions_, but I thought because you were the Potions Master that you would be able to help her with her with what she was looking for."

Professor Snape looked no less pleased than Holly at the prospect.

Holly gave Severus a weak smile, "No really, it's all right, Severus. I know you're quite busy and all, I'm sure I can find it in that book."

Severus gave Holly a stern appraising look, "Now what would the Transfiguration Professor need with a Potions book?" he drawled slowly.

"Just something that I am very sure I can find in that Potions book, that's all."

Severus raised an eyebrow to the Transfiguration Professor's answer, "I was not aware that you knew how to brew a proper potion."

Holly crossed her arms over her chest, "Well, _Professor_, it's apparent to me that you aren't aware of a lot of things."

Madam Pince was watching the face-off between the two Professors with an avid interest, a fact that was oblivious to the two angry teachers.

"Perhaps you should learn your place, Professor Quiggle. As the Deputy Headmaster of this school, I _am_ aware of most everything that goes on here."

"I'm sure you are," Holly retorted sarcastically.

There was a ghost of a smirk on the Potion Master's face as he leaned in and said in a barely audible whisper, "I am aware of the fact that you have not slept in a week, and of the fact that you almost fell asleep during this morning's meeting."

Holly's heart skipped a beat, he'd been watching her? _What a perv,_ she thought.

She narrowed her eyes to jade slits and said, "Well whoopdie doo for you." She then turned on the nosy librarian, "I'll just order the damn book from Flourish and Blotts catalogue myself," she said, stomping off towards the Great Hall in a flurry of scarlet and gold.

Severus glared after the angered Transfiguration Professor, muttering under his breath, "Bloody Americans."

* * *

Seventeen-year-old Harry Potter stepped off of the Hogwarts Express, his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in tow.

"Can you believe it's going to be our last time taking the thestral carriages up to the Castle?" Hermione asked, a note of wistfulness in her voice.

"Yeah, and it'll probably be the last time we'll have Divination as well," Ron said, a dreamy smile on his face.

Harry remained quiet, as he had been since June. No longer was he the immature and inquisitive teen of his earlier years at Hogwarts; he'd grown in the past two months and now maintained a quiet air around him.

"You all right, mate?" Ron asked, adjusting the front of his second-hand school robe that was almost three inches too short for his tall lanky frame.

Harry gave a weak smile of reassurance, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Hermione tugged on the sleeves of Harry and Ron's robes, "Come on, let's try to get a carriage before we end up having to share one with Malfoy."

* * *

The students began filing into the Great Hall, ahead of the first years. Just as they began sitting down, Holly raced in through the side door of the Great Hall in a furious flurry of red and quickly took her seat between Paul and Simone.

"Late as usual, eh Quiggle?" Simone asked playfully.

Holly grinned, "Yet another altercation between the ever charming Professor Snape and myself, Sinistra."

Paul nearly choked on his pumpkin juice in surprise, "What?"

Holly was about to explain, but saw McGonagall and Snape readying the Sorting Hat for the first years and said quickly, "Later."

The students had filed in and were all sitting at their respective House tables chatting excitedly about their summer holidays. The Sorting Hat sat waiting as the first years gathered at the stool trembling with fear and anticipation.

As McGonagall began her welcome speech, Holly spotted the quiet black-haired teen with emerald eyes that rivaled her own. Her heart skipped a beat and she elbowed Simone, "Is that…?"

"Harry Potter," Simone whispered in affirmation.

Before Holly could ask any further questions, McGonagall announced the newest additions to the teaching staff.

"I would like to take this time to introduce our newest additions to the teaching staff. Please welcome back Professor Remus Lupin, he will be re-assuming the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor and he will be taking my former position of Head of Gryffindor House," McGonagall announced, applauding along with the rest of the Great Hall as Remus stood up from where he was sitting. As the applause died down, McGonagall continued, "And filling the position of Transfiguration Professor, we have Professor Holly Quiggle."

As the applause died down, Professor Snape was given the go-ahead to begin the Sorting Ceremony. Paul and Victoria found the scared little faces of the first years under the severe glare of Professor Snape exceedingly funny and were further entertaining themselves by alternating imitations of Filch and Snape.

Soon the ceremony was over, and the food magically appeared on the golden plates upon the tables, and the Great Hall became abuzz with the sounds of talking and the scraping of silverware upon china.

* * *

"Did you lot hear that Professor Quiggle is actually from America?" Seamus Finnigan asked Harry and Company excitedly.

"No I didn't. Where in America, do you know?" Hermione asked, taking a sip of pumpkin juice from her goblet.

"Nah, didn't get that part," Seamus said, shoveling roasted chicken into his mouth.

Hermione looked disgusted.

Ron grinned at Harry and Hermione, "She's a looker, though, eh Harry?"

Hermione sighed, "Ron, she's our _Professor_. Perhaps you should control your hormones and have a little respect," she said sternly.

Harry silently picked at his steak and kidney pie, watching the discussion between his two best friends with a bored interest.

"Oh come on, Mione," Ron protested, "Just because I appreciate the female form, does not mean I need to control my hormones. Merlin's Beard you're too sensitive sometimes."

"I am not too sensitive, Ronald," Hermione snapped, "You're just a pig."

"Whatever, Hermione," Ron rolled his sky blue eyes, "S'not my fault you're such a prude."

For the rest of the night, Ron and Hermione didn't speak to each other, which suited Harry just fine, as he really didn't feel up to conversation. As he settled himself into bed that night, he couldn't help thinking about Professor Quiggle, especially her eyes, which were a most peculiar shade of green, very much like his own.

* * *

Holly stumbled into the Great Hall the next morning, tripping over the hem of her sleek gray robes, bleary eyed and extremely exhausted – she had used up her entire supply of Stay-Awake Solution the night before ironing her entire wardrobe and writing an alphabetized list of all Transfiguration spells and charms by category.

After the Start of Term Feast, Holly had successfully evaded all conversation pertaining to Severus Snape and had switched the topic to Simone and Paul's latest competition for the MPS wizard, Robert, which took up most of the evening before Simone and Paul decided it was time for bed and Holly began her ironing.

The Staff Table was almost deserted. Professors Flitwick and Sprout and Madam Hooch were the only ones at the table. However, the Students' Tables were full and abuzz with conversation.

Holly reached for the teapot and tiredly transfigured her tea into a strong espresso. She wrapped her hands around her coffee mug and looked around the Great Hall. The Hufflepuff Table was the most full, and as Holly noticed, not the tidiest of students. The Ravenclaws had already gotten their textbooks out and most of them were absently eating while focused on their books. The Gryffindors were practicing charms on their breakfast while talking the most excitedly. The Slytherins were coolly eating breakfast, and not really talking to one another as they ate. Holly noticed them to be the most neatest and polished of the Houses.

She watched as Professor Snape came by the tables, grudgingly handing the students their time tables and making snide remarks. _Typical_, she thought.

Draining her coffee, she rose from the table and, tripping over her robes in her heeled shoes, she made her way towards her Transfiguration classroom to await her first class, Seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins.

* * *

"Harry come on! We're going to be late for Transfiguration!" Hermione said, pulling her friend by the back of his robe as he quickly finished his breakfast.

Together the three raced towards their first class and made it just in time as Professor Quiggle was rising from her seat to begin class.

"_Colloportus," _Professor Quiggle said, as the door shut and locked behind them, "Please take a seat," she paused yawning, "Normally, I'm always late, so you don't have to be punctual, but if you arrive after I do, then you'll find yourselves locked out of the classroom."

The three quickly took their seats, amongst the sniggers from the Slytherins.

"Ok, guys, welcome to Seventh Year N.E.W.T level Transfiguration. I'm Holly Quiggle, your Professor," she yawned again, "Sorry guys, I'm still getting used to English time."

Ron glanced at Harry and Hermione, both of whom seemed to be entranced by the new Professor. He sighed and got out his notebook.

"I don't know how you guys do it here, but I'm used to having a syllabus passed around at the start of the term. So, you," she addressed Malfoy, "please pass these around the room to your classmates."

Malfoy smirked at Professor Quiggle and began to pass around the syllabus.

"Now, if you will take a look, you will see that you will have a final project this year that will be due on June 15th before your exams. Your topic must be approved," she paused, yawning again, "no later than the 8th of October. You may come and see me at anytime with questions, day, night, whatever. Any questions to start with?"

Hermione immediately raised her hand.

"Uh, you," she said, gesturing towards Hermione.

"Professor," Hermione said, "What kinds of topics do you suggest for a successful project?"

Holly rubbed her eyes, "It must be something to do with Transfigurative Potions, Charms, and Spells. What you choose from there is your own decision, as I trust you are all adult enough to make your own decisions. Make a note that today will be the only time we will be discussing this project in class. Any other questions should be directed to me outside of class. If you look, you will see my office hours posted to the top of the syllabus."

Harry looked down at the syllabus and saw "Anytime" under Professor Quiggle's office hours. He grinned to himself.

"All right," Holly paused and yawned again, "I'm gonna take roll now and then I'll let you go for the rest of the morning."

The students looked around excitedly grinning at each other, while Professor Quiggle picked up the student roster from her desk and began to call roll.

"All right (yawn), Seamus Finnigan."

"Present."

Holly began to walk around the room so as to match names with faces.

"Granger?"

Hermione sat up straighter, "Right here."

Holly smiled, "How do you pronounce your first name?"

"Hermione," she replied with correct pronunciation.

Holly made a note, "Hermione," she repeated.

"Draco Malfoy?"

Draco smirked and gave a small wave to Professor Quiggle.

"Right," Holly said.

"Harry Potter?" his name came out of her mouth like a surprised question.

"Here," Harry muttered, glancing up.

The moment Holly's eyes met Harry's, the quill and parchment that she was holding floated to the floor. All of the sudden, Holly heard the deafening cry of a baby and saw the menacing ruby eyes of the tall man from her dreams. She gasped suddenly as she saw the baby where Harry was sitting and then whole world went black.


End file.
